


I Like You Better

by Anonymous



Category: Garfield - All Media Types
Genre: (kinda), Anthropomorphic, Cause people just hate furries, Cheating, Crack Treated Seriously, Dysfunctional Relationships, Garfield is an anthro cat because I make the rules - not you, I've finally went to hell, Inspired by Fanfiction, Liz is a bitch and Jon deserves better, M/M, Racism, Replacing your bitchy girlfriend with a hunk of a man cat - the fanfiction, Slow Burn, You're welcome to come with me
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-17
Updated: 2020-03-17
Packaged: 2021-02-28 22:01:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,520
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23184469
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/
Summary: Liz isn't the kind and loving partner Jon needs, thankfully somebody else comes into Jon's life.
Relationships: Jon Arbuckle/Garfield, Jon Arbuckle/Liz Wilson
Comments: 3
Kudos: 24
Collections: Anonymous





	I Like You Better

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by a fic I found on Wattpad.

Jon was tired. Tired of everything really, his life, his work, his _everything_. It was all just so goddamn miserable. It didn't help that he was in a failing relationship with his girlfriend, Liz. Liz wasn't the loving partner he needed, she wasn't the woman he fell in love with. It was depressing, he was depressed. The saddest thing was, there was nothing he could do about it. He couldn't bare to hurt Liz by breaking up with her, even if he had the sneaking suspicion that she no longer cared for him. So he was stuck.

Instead of passing the time by thinking about his sad life, Jon liked to take long walks in the park. He lied to Liz most mornings, telling her that he had to work overtime at his office job (A job that he only got because Liz insisted that a cartoonist could never pay the bills, even though Jon knew from experience that he could.), so he had at least two hours to himself. So he walked through the large and deserted park, thinking about nothing - he just let his mind wander.

Jon walked and marvelled at the beauty of nature. The outdoors was like a second home to him, having grown up on a farm and spending most time outside in his youth, so he felt a peace being there. It was a shame really, his boring office job stopped him from being able to see the nature that he loved so much. He sighed, it was nice to get away. Jon walked over to a secluded bench and sat down, basking in the warmth of the sun and the chill of the wind.

It was nice, just sitting there all by himself. He felt more at peace than he'd felt in a long time. Jon closed his eyes and hummed lightly to himself. Yeah, he could get used to this.

A cough brought Jon out of his thoughts, his eyes snapped open in search of the person who disturbed him. He looked around but couldn't see anyone. He was about to close his eyes again when he felt someone tap his shoulder.

 _"Excuse me, sir?"_ A gruff and tired voice said from behind Jon.

Jon turned around and was face to face with a large man-cat. The cat had bright orange fur that stood out harshly in the sun, most of the fur was covered by the jumper and sweatpants the cat was wearing. Jon looked at the cat in startled wonder, he'd heard about the anthropomorphic animals before but he'd never seen one. Jon shook himself out of his thoughts and replied. "Can I help you?"

The cat scratched behind his ear, he looked like he wasn't used to social interaction. _"Uh, yeah. Do you possibly have a lighter I could borrow?"_ He pointed to the cigarette in his mouth.

"Oh, sure. Hold on a second." Jon rummaged in his jacket pocket in search of a lighter. Jon had taken up smoking cigarettes when his pipe mysteriously disappeared, he'd asked Liz about it before but she said she had no idea where it went. It was annoying, cigarettes were expensive. After some time Jon fished out an orange lighter and handed it to the cat.

The cat took it in a large paw and lit his cigarette. _"Thank you."_ He moved to sit next to Jon. _"Do you want one?"_ He motioned to the cigarette in his mouth.

"No thanks, I've got my own. Thanks for the offer though." Jon took his lighter back from the cat and lit up a cigarette of his own. Jon stared at the cat who leaned back and closed his eyes. He'd never seen anything like him, it was odd. He wanted to ask the cat a lot of questions, but he didn't want to sound rude. Then again he was staring, but how could he not stare?

 _"Take a picture, it'll last longer."_ The cat opened one eye and looked back at Jon.

Jon jumped. "Oh, oh I'm so sorry, sir!" He turned to look away.

The cat shrugged. _"It's fine. Name's Garfield, yours?"_

"Jon." Jon turned to once again look at Garfield. "Jon Arbuckle." He paused awkwardly. "Um, I haven't seen you around here before..." God, he was such a loser.

 _"Really?"_ Garfield laughed lightly. _"I've lived here for a while, don't really leave the house often. I'm not really a fan of the outdoors, or people in general."_ The tone in the last sentence sounded sad and forlorn. It made Jon feel slight concern.

"I-I guess that explains it. I'm not really a big fan of people either, but I love the outdoors - it helps me relax." Jon sighed sadly, puffing out a cloud of smoke. "But it feels like I've been needing to relax more and more recently."

Garfield looked at Jon sympathetically. _"I know what you mean."_

They both sat in an awkward silence, neither being able to keep a conversation going.

Garfield sighed and blew out a cloud of smoke. God, why was talking so difficult? He had next to no social skills due to never talking to anyone, it didn't help that people never wanted to speak with him. Then when somebody like Jon was actually willing to talk with him, he couldn't keep conversation. He shouldn't have left the house. 

"Are you okay? I'm not making you uncomfortable, am I? Sorry, I'm not good at conversations." Jon sat awkwardly and glanced at Garfield.

 _"No, it's fine."_ Garfield rubbed his face in annoyance. _"I can't keep conversations either, don't worry. It doesn't help that people don't like to talk to me."_

Jon raised his eyebrows and instantly felt sorry for the cat. "Why wouldn't people want to talk to you?" Jon had a sneaking suspicion why.

 _"Isn't it obvious?"_ Garfield turned to fully face Jon. He puffed out a large cloud of smoke. _"I don't know if you haven't noticed, but I'm not exactly normal. People look at me and-and they're terrified of me! I can't go outside without somebody staring at me!"_ Garfield threw the cigarette on the ground in anger and stomped on it with a paw.

Jon noted Garfield's lack of shoes and his lack of nice clothing in general. He only felt even more concerned. "I-I'm so sorry." It was all he could say, what else could he say? He wasn't the best at helping people out with their problems, he couldn't even fix his own.

 _"It's-"_ Garfield sighed and rubbed his face. _"-It's fine. I don't even know why I'm telling you this."_

Jon threw his cigarette on the ground and put it out with his shoe. "No, it's not 'fine'." Jon placed a hand on Garfield's shoulder. "You shouldn't be treated like that, it's not right. You shouldn't have to go through that and I'm sorry that you do." Jon tried to meet Garfield's eyes, but he couldn't. He sighed. "If it's any consolation, Garfield, I'm not afraid of you."

Garfield met Jon's eyes and smiled lightly. _"Thank you, Jon. That means a lot."_

Jon smiled with Garfield and he was about to say something when he was interrupted by his phone going off. "Oh, excuse me for a second." Jon turned and pulled out his phone. It was a text from Liz.

**Liz <[ Jon, it's been an hour, where the hell are you?]**

Jon sighed in annoyance, he didn't realise how long he'd spent out.

**Me <[Sorry, I met up with a friend while I was walking home - I didn't realise how long I was talking for. I'll be home in ten minutes. xx]**

**Liz <[Hurry up or I'll eat dinner without you.]**

Jon sighed again, Liz's bluntness was really getting to him.

_"Is everything okay?"_

Jon put his phone back in his pocket. "Yeah, everything's fine. I have to go though."

Garfield frowned, Jon's tone concerned him. _"Okay then."_ He sighed lightly, he was actually enjoying talking to someone for once, why did it have to end? But he wouldn't keep Jon, not everyone had time to listen to a fat cat's issues. _"I'll see you around, Jon."_

Jon watched Garfield get up. He couldn't just leave him like this, he had to do _something_. "Wait." He fished out his phone and wrote his number down. He handed his number to Garfield. "Here. Call me if you need someone to talk to. Just don't call from 9-5 on weekdays, I'll be at work then." He did his best to give Garfield the brightest smile he could muster.

Garfield took the small piece of paper and looked at the numbers written in Jon's pleasantly messy handwriting. He smiled at Jon. _"Thank you, I will. See you later, Jon."_ He turned to walk away, but not before waving at the man.

Jon waved back. "Bye, Garfield." He turned and started to walk briskly home to not anger Liz. He was glad he did something nice for Garfield, he could sense how sad he was - Jon could relate. He just hoped Garfield would call, he would be looking forward to seeing him again.

**Author's Note:**

> You might as well book a place in hell now.


End file.
